Much to June Mei's chagrin, the older women urge her to travel to China to meet her sisters and teach them about their mother's heritage.
It is at the opening of the book that June Mei finds out that her mother had twin daughters in China who she abandoned as babies and after all these years, they have been found. Away from these intimate gatherings, even the daughters of these women did not know much about their mothers' lives in China. It is also only at these meetings that these four ladies could pour out the sorrows of the life they left behind in China, including extended families who stayed in villages while these fortunate ones moved to Shanghai and Hong Kong and then to the United States. Yet, June Mei and her friends from the group, Waverly, Rose, and Lena, for the most part were interested in achieving the American dream, often times at the expense of their mothers who worked hard to preserve their Chinese cultural existence. The other families who joined her- the Hsus, Jongs, and St Claires- became like family as together they celebrated festivals, children's birthdays, and indoctrinated the next generation in Chinese culture. Suyuan started this game and Joy Luck Club when she first immigrated to the United States as a way to maintain her Chinese culture in a new country. Now, years later, with many other books and various experiences under my belt, I reread The Joy Luck Club, Tan's first book, as part of my March Women's History Month lineup.įollowing her mother's death, June Mei Woo has replaced her mother Suyuan at her monthly mah jong game. During high school, when I did not have the life experience to fully appreciate her work, I read each of Amy Tan's books as they came out.
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